So for Mahiru, a Kinji Hakari who'd hit the jackpot was actually even less of a hassle to fight than a Kinji Hakari who hadn't hit the jackpot.
At least the latter would still dodge when it seemed wise.
Having hit the jackpot yet with no intel on Mahiru's "Idle Transfiguration," Kinji Hakari was left with no choice but to be taken down in an instant.
Mahiru bent down and reached out, once again using "Idle Transfiguration" on the severely wounded Kinji Hakari lying on the ground, completely dismantling his limbs and leaving him paralyzed.
Kinji Hakari actually wasn't entirely powerless even now—he could still keep gushing infinite Cursed Energy like a furnace, which would at least pester Mahiru for a short while.
But he gave up anyway, because it wouldn't do much good.
If the nature of this battle hadn't been a fight to the death, he'd probably already have been killed by Mahiru. "I lost, huh..."
Kinji Hakari completely gave up struggling, gazed at the sky, and exhaled. "To think I'd lose this badly..."
Even after hitting the jackpot, he'd still been beaten—now he couldn't even reach for the excuse of "bad luck." Mahiru could just thrash him whenever she pleased. That was, by now, an indisputable fact.
"Uh..." Yuji Itadori stepped forward, wanting to speak but holding back.
Looking at how pitiful Kinji Hakari was... were they really supposed to negotiate and ask this guy for help?
After all this, would the senpai really still lend a hand? Not making an enemy of them would already count as a good outcome.
"And you over there." Mahiru turned her head toward a concealed spot not far off. "You don't need to hide either... We were just having a friendly little sparring match, that's all."
In truth, from a bystander's eyes it was hard to see anything friendly about it.
If someone unaware of the situation heard Mahiru's words, they'd sound positively brimming with menace.
A figure slowly emerged from the hiding place—a slender, short-haired girl... uh, no, a boy. Kirara Hoshi: a male character drawn as a girl but insistently declared male, whose looks were completely those of a beautiful woman.
Also Kinji Hakari's lover.
"...What is it you're after?" Kirara Hoshi stared fixedly at Mahiru, eyes full of wariness, yet the tone pleading. "If there's something you want, we'll absolutely do our utmost to provide it... Please, don't hurt Kin-chan."
Yuji Itadori scratched his head and let out an "uh."
Megumi Fushiguro hurried over from not far away as well, and his expression shifted at the sight of the situation here.
"Actually, we said it from the very beginning—we're people from Jujutsu High," Mahiru spread her hands. "But he didn't believe us and tried to run, so the misunderstandings chained together, and it ended up like this."
"Jujutsu High?" Kirara Hoshi froze for a beat, then felt a chill run through, the color draining from the face.
Jujutsu High... This is bad—could this blue-haired girl and the other two have been sent by the Jujutsu higher-ups to eliminate him and Kinji Hakari?
"Since you haven't gone for the kill yet, that means there's still room to talk, right?" Kirara Hoshi swayed, legs a little weak but still forcing themselves to stay upright. "Whatever you need us to do, we'll do it..."
"No, no," Mahiru, realizing she'd been misunderstood, waved her hands repeatedly. "I'm doing Satoru Gojo a favor."
The moment those words came out, both Kirara Hoshi and Kinji Hakari were taken aback.
"Satoru Gojo asked me to bring you two back," Mahiru said. "He's got something he needs the two of you to help with."
Satoru Gojo... needs someone's help?
Kinji Hakari, on the ground, and Kirara Hoshi exchanged a glance, swapping a bit of unspoken information.
"So you really don't intend to let us go after all..." Kirara Hoshi shut their eyes in anguish. "You won't even be willing to tell us the truth..."
What's that supposed to mean?!
Sure, the idea that the strongest of the modern age needs help really isn't all that believable, but I've at least cut you some slack here—how can they still think I'm lying to them!
Mahiru smacked her lips, then bent down and reached out to repair Kinji Hakari's body with Idle Transfiguration, while tossing a phone over to Kirara Hoshi. On that phone was a voice recording of Satoru Gojo.
After listening to it, Kirara Hoshi was left dazed.
Mahiru shrugged. "Believe me now? Also, drop this whole independence scheme with your city, because by the looks of it you can't manage the place at all."
This city, formed with Kinji Hakari and Kirara Hoshi at its center, was a chaotic jumble of all sorts; after the earthquake disaster, this place would surely be shut down.
Its very existence rested, in large part, on the fact that Satoru Gojo and the others at Jujutsu High simply hadn't had the hands to spare. His body restored by Mahiru, Kinji Hakari sat up from the ground.
Kirara Hoshi stepped forward to check Kinji Hakari over.
"But there's good news—that sorcerer boxing tournament you've been hoping for really does have room to become a reality down the line." Mahiru held up a single finger. "After all, jujutsu's been made public now, so it no longer needs to be kept a secret."
Kinji Hakari was a man who valued loyalty and honor.
Both Satoru Gojo and Masamichi Yaga were teachers who had looked after Kinji Hakari.
If his teachers needed help, he would surely feel duty-bound to step up.
But to get someone to throw themselves into the work, you definitely have to dangle a few big promises.
According to the plan, Mahiru had the authority to make certain promises to Kinji Hakari on behalf of Jujutsu High's Tokyo campus, and every one of them would be binding.
Mahiru said that afterward Kinji Hakari could be allowed to host a more legitimate boxing tournament... and after that, Kinji Hakari would truly gain the proper qualifications.
"I guess that works..." Kinji Hakari tilted his head up at the sky and let out a long breath. "The way things are here now... is actually wrong, too."
This city was a mistake, something that needed to be set right.
Kinji Hakari had understood this point long ago.
It was only that, in the moment he actually gave it up, he still felt a touch of melancholy. After all, this had been the closest he'd ever come to the goal of his dreams.
Ending this grand tournament so abruptly would also let down the feelings of the many spectators who had genuinely looked forward to the matches. Kinji Hakari felt wistful.
And seeing him look so wistful, Mahiru stroked her chin.
"Tell you what—let me strike one more deal with you," Mahiru said suddenly. "You let me tinker around with your Technique, and in return, I'll help you give this tournament a perfect finale."
Kinji Hakari looked at Mahiru, somewhat surprised. "For real?"
"Of course it's for real."
"I really didn't expect you to be a good person after all." Kinji Hakari's eyes went wide.
Mahiru grinned and gave Kinji Hakari a thumbs-up. "You got it."
In any case, she'd wrapped up the plan well ahead of schedule, so lending a hand and making a deal on the side was no trouble at all.
Bringing the finals to a satisfying close, then...
This was easy enough—as long as the fight looked flashy and cool, oozed style, and dazzled the whole audience, that would do the trick.
"Leave it to me." Mahiru patted her chest.
In that case, the finals would obviously have to be a fight between Yuji Itadori and Fushiguro.
But there wasn't much spectacle in those two brawling—nothing more than fists flailing away like beating a stray dog; without adding a little spice, it'd be unwatchable.
Mahiru came up with an idea at once, then placed a call right away.
"Hello? Todo, do you have a moment?..."
Todo was most likely off doing work over at Miwa's side, and Mahiru wanted to call him back.
After all, in the battles of Jujutsu Kaisen, no one's fighting was more of a spectacle than the clap-and-switch teamwork of Todo and Yuji Itadori.
Todo indicated he could come.
Mahiru set down the phone, brimming with confidence.
"What are you scheming?" Fushiguro was puzzled. "Todo isn't even a contestant, is he? Even if he shows up, he can't take part."
Mahiru wagged a finger. "It's fine, I've got my own clever scheme."
Fushiguro fell silent for a moment. She suddenly had an ominous premonition.
In her experience, whenever the girl wore an expression like that, something not-so-good usually followed soon after.
"...You're really not about to pull off something terrible, are you?"
"Relax, I absolutely guarantee it'll be spectacular." Mahiru folded her arms and hummed a couple of times.
She'd absolutely, positively make the audience feel the trip was worth it!
____
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